Bright Lights After Dark gives a “Happy Birthday” shout-out to one of America’s finest character actors, Mr. Dean Stockwell. He was born Robert Dean Stockwell on March 5, 1936 in North Hollywood, California, which by our calculations would make him well over 50. (Math is not one of our strong points.) Who in Hollywood has ... read more »

Can’t wait to see David Lynch’s Inland Empire? Then check out Episode 1 of Lynch’s Rabbits (2002), screening here. Some have called it a sitcom parody, but it’s stranger than that – more like a surrealist painting, with dialogue. The voices emerging from the bunny heads belong to Scott Coffey, Laura Elena Haring, and Naomi ... read more »

Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931) has gotten a bad rap in recent years. Some have even gone so far as to maintain that the 1931 Spanish version (shot on the same sets at night by George Melford, a non-Spanish-speaking director) is “technically superior.” Leaving aside the relative lack of distinction of the Spanish-speaking cast, the crudeness ... read more »

The ‘30s M (Lang) Two Seconds (LeRoy) Scarface (Hawks) Fury (Lang) You Only Live Once (Lang) Sabotage (Hitchcock) The ‘40s Stranger on the Third Floor (Ingster) The Seventh Victim (Lewton/Robson) Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock) Laura (Preminger) Phantom Lady (Siodmak) Fallen Angel (Preminger) The Woman in the Window (Lang) The Killers (Siodmak) Scarlet Street (Lang) ... read more »

“The Red Room – She’s Filled With Secrets” “Burst Into Fire Forever”

Greil Marcus writes: “Twin Peaks made Laura Palmer famous as a corpse; [the movie prequel] Fire Walk with Me, which is about her discovery that the demon who has been raping her since she was twelve is her father, is the greatest teen jeopardy movie ever made, and even as she dies at her father’s ... read more »

David Lynch ringtones at http://www.davidlynch.com/ringtones.html